February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Really, it’s gotta be tough to be in a pop band these days. Every five minutes, another group of toothy youths appears on the scene, warbling crappy cover versions of long-ago hits. And to make things worse, other singers get publicity by cornering reporters and moaning about how you are destroying the music business, while — coincidentally — pushing their latest album. The latest performer to jump on this rickety bandwagon is renegade priest and former pope picture-rippin’ firebrand Sinead O’Connor.
While discussing her latest album, ‘Sean Nos Nua,’ O’Connor took the opportunity to wring her hands over the current state of the Irish music scene. Suffice it to say, she’s unimpressed.
“If you listen to bands like Boyzone and Westlife, it’s all ‘Oh, baby, come back and shag me!'” she said in disgust.
“It’s a weak standard out there today when you compare it to the old traditional tunes that Irish people wrote back in the good days.”
Not that she’s tooting her own horn or nothin’, but Sinead thinks that her nua — er, new — album might be a beacon for the stumbling singers.
“I think there is a caliber of songwriting, as evident on these songs, that has been lost along the way,” she sniffed.